Shropshire Star

30 jobs face axe in Shrewsbury College shake-up

Up to 30 jobs could be axed at Shrewsbury College under a shake-up of its management structure, it was revealed today.

Published

College bosses said that the money saved through the job losses would be reinvested into teaching.

Around 30 management and administration positions at the college are at risk, with some compulsory redundancies expected.

Teaching staff could be in line for salary increases under proposals unveiled by Principal Steve Wain today. He pledged the college, which has its main campus in London Road, would try to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.

Mr Wain said: "We are doing all we can to minimise the need for any compulsory redundancies and expect to deal with much of this through voluntary arrangements.

"We do anticipate the need for some compulsory redundancies but won't know the actual figure until we get to the end of the process."

The potential job losses are part of an ongoing restructuring process at the college aimed at supporting investment in teaching staff and facilities.

Mr Wain said: "We are making the changes to prepare ourselves for the future and to streamline existing management and support activities so that we can continue our ongoing investment in facilities and teaching staff.

"We are therefore not expecting to make significant savings as a result of these changes."

Mr Wain said the savings would be reinvested into teaching and claimed an existing cap on teachers' salaries could be raised next year.

He said: "We are changing and reprioritising our expenditure away from management and support and into student resources, facilities and teachers."

The college is currently spending £12 million expanding its main campus, with work due to be completed later this year.

Mr Wain said admissions from school leavers had increased by 12 per cent compared to last year.

He said: "We are increasing choice and student contact time when many other colleges faced with austerity cutbacks are doing the opposite.

"We have looked carefully at how we can prioritise our investment in students and teaching and after a month of positive internal consultation are now implementing a restructuring of our management arrangements and support functions."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.